A study tracking increased potency of both herbal and resin types of the drug points to greater dangers for users

The Guardian (UK)Sunday, December 30, 2018

Cannabis potency has doubled across Europe in the past decade, according to the first study to track changes in the drug across the continent. The study, published in the journal Addiction and conducted by researchers from the University of Bath and King’s College London, finds that both cannabis resin and herbal cannabis have increased in strength and price with potentially harmful consequences for users. In herbal cannabis, concentrations of THC – the main psychoactive constituent of cannabis which has been linked to psychosis – increased from 5% in 2006 to 10% in 2016. For cannabis resin, THC concentrations remained relatively stable between 2006 and 2011 before increasing rapidly from 10% to 17% between 2011 and 2016.

End of prohibition is a big step in a country on the frontline of the drug wars

Financial Times (UK)Friday, December 28, 2018

Olga Sánchez Cordero, interior minister in Mexico’s new leftist nationalist government, has submitted a bill to Congress to end prohibition and start regulation. Since the ruling party controls Congress, the bill is unlikely to run into trouble; indeed, it is expected to be passed within weeks. Mexico will be the third country in the world to make marijuana cultivation and consumption legal. Latin America’s second-largest economy, which briefly legalised all drugs in 1940, will follow in the footsteps of Uruguay and Canada, as well as more than 30 US states where cannabis has been legalised for medicinal or recreational use or both. The big difference is that, unlike Mexico, none of the other places is a major producer of illegal drugs.

Controversy has long swirled around the financial links between pharmaceutical companies and doctors; studies suggest such connections can adversely affect medical decision making

National Post (Canada)Thursday, December 27, 2018

When doctors at the Solace Health Network of cannabis clinics prescribe their patients medical marijuana, one government-licensed producer of the drug might come quickly to mind. The clinics’ parent company, after all, is Terrascend, which also owns a cannabis grower and seller. A direct ownership link between doctor-staffed clinics and the manufacturer of their main treatment tool would be unheard of if it involved a pharmaceutical firm. But in the fast-evolving cannabis industry, Terrascend’s arrangement is far from unique — and quite legal. Close to a dozen companies across the country have combined pot-producing operations and marijuana-treatment clinics under the same corporate umbrella, in what seems to be a growing trend.

Opposition lawmakers have rebuked the government for a "deliberate obstruction" of legal cannabis laws

Deutsche Welle (Germany)Thursday, December 27, 2018

The production and distribution of medical marijuana in Germany will be delayed once again. The Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices has said it needs more time to decide the rules for awarding licenses to cannabis producers. Medical marijuana has technically been legal in Germany since March 2017, but the Federal Ministry of Health has repeatedly postponed the implementation of the legislation. Now, authorities are saying that the first licenses may not be awarded until the second quarter of 2019. While prescriptions skyrocket for products containing cannabis, there is still no legal framework for the large-scale production of legal cannabis in Germany.

There are eight cultivating companies in Israel - many of which have resorted to opening farms abroad to get into the international market

Reuters (UK)Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Israel's parliament has given its final approval to a long-awaited and controversial law to allow exports of medical cannabis, a move that is likely to boost state coffers. Lawmakers voted 21-0 in favour of the bill, which still needs approval from cabinet ministers and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israeli companies - benefiting from a favourable climate and expertise in medical and agricultural technologies - are among the world's biggest producers of medical cannabis. The finance and health ministries estimate exports could raise tax income by 1 billion shekels (208.9 million pounds) a year. The bill to allow exports imposes tough regulations on exporters and threatens jail terms and hefty fines for violations.

Consultations with stakeholders have already begun with public sessions to begin after feedback is received from interest groups

Loop (Trinidad & Tobago)Saturday, December 22, 2018

Marijuana should decriminalised in Trinidad and Tobago by mid-2019. Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley made the revelation while speaking with reporters. His comments come after Attorney General Faris Al Rawi said legislation on the decriminalisation of marijuana will be laid in Parliament in the first half of 2019. “We expect that by May to June of 2019, the decriminalisation would have been affected.” The Prime Minister further stressed that decriminalisation does not mean legalisation: “There is a big difference between decriminalisation and legalisation of marijuana. We have committed to decriminalisation. What we are working on now is the method by which and what that represents in terms of the use.”

The report said the law had not achieved its purpose of protecting health and minimising harm

Newsroom (New Zealand)Wednesday, December 19, 2018

The long-overdue review of the Psychoactive Substances Act paints a damning, but unsurprising, picture of the law’s failing. The Act was put in place in 2013, and amended in 2014, in response to new substances popping up faster than lawmakers could regulate. The law aimed to safely regulate the chemicals used in party pills, and then synthetics (synthetic cannabis). But a Ministry of Health review of what was supposed to be a ground-breaking approach to drug law, instead speaks at length about its failures – a view shared by Minister of Health David Clark. The results of the review come hot on the heels of Clark’s new plan to deal with psychoactive substances and a look at the failed Psychoactive Substances Act will come as part of a wider review of drug policy.

Enforcement agency says 5,050 lives lost in president’s war on drugs, mostly at police hands

The Guardian (UK)Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Derrick Carreon, a spokesman for the Philippine drug enforcement agency (PDEA), said that, according to official figures, between July 2016 and the end of November this year, 5,050 lives were lost, mostly at the hands of the police. The official toll falls well short of estimates given by human rights groups and campaigners for victims, which vary from 12,000 to 20,000. Many of the undocumented killings, rights groups say, were carried out by “death squads” and unofficial militias. Last week, Chito Gascon, the chairman of the Philippine commission on human rights, said the toll could be as high as 27,000, though he emphasised that investigating the deaths was complex because police withheld records on anti-drug operations.

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UN Drug Control

In 2011 the 1961 UN Single Convention on drugs will be in place for 50 years. In 2012 the international drug control system will exist 100 years since the International Opium Convention was signed in 1912 in The Hague. Does it still serve its purpose or is a reform of the UN Drug Conventions needed? This site provides critical background.